Twisted Truths
by SaDiablo Fangirls Unite
Summary: Upon Jaenelle's death, the world is torn asunder. As Daemon struggles to hold back an army intent upon the destruction of his family, a young witch must gather her wits and her friends to protect the land.


**Twisted Truths**

**By Touya and Gaeri**

**Chapter 1**

**1.1**

Daemon SaDiablo, Warlord Prince of Demelan and one of two living males who wore the Black sat straight-backed and stiff behind his desk. The reports that cluttered his blackwood desk were causing quite a bit more than a little strain. They were significantly more than financial reports or reports of wolf attacks in the north woods. These reports held grisly details of death, murder, and violent rape. They had for nearly twelve years.

No one had guessed that the repercussions of Jaenelle's death would be so heavy, so lamentable. A Queen so tied to the land she trod could be expected to leave the land in mourning, but such grief had also twisted many of the darker Jeweled Queens that were closely tied to the land as well.

At first the massacre that had following had been thought sad, unneeded, but contained well. The darker Jeweled Queens and Warlord Princes driven insane by Jaenelle's death had wrought havoc upon the land, killing countless Blood before they'd been killed themselves.

There was no reason for the lighter Jeweled people to think that those of darker power were a threat to be eliminated. Anyone could be overwhelmed, regardless of Jewel rank.

Dozens of dark Queens, Warlord Princes, and Black Widows had been targeted. Hundreds of villages known to house any darker than the Opal had been destroyed.

Daemon clenched a fist, fighting the anger that rose in him at these thoughts. His own family was safe. There was too much dark power in them for them to be targeted yet.

Yet being the word that woke him in the night, terrified for his young daughter and sons; in fear for his niece and nephew. Anyone could be overwhelmed, especially a young virgin Queen or Healer at the right time. Any warrior could be lost to a wound that cut too deep, or came unexpectedly. Too many variables played into the survival of his family, and that idea scared Daemon like nothing had ever frightened him before.

"Well, old son, you look like they put you through the ringer."

The imposing Eyrien form of Daemon's brother filled the study door and approached without a simple 'by-your-leave'.

Daemon placed his glassed before him on the desk and rubbed at his eyes.

"More reports came in this morning. Two more villages on Demelan's border have been burned, the people wiped out." He explained, avoiding the look that would cross Lucivar's face now. He allowed his brother a moment to digest the comment before looking up. "They're getting pushier. So far, very few Demelan people have perished, because the SaDiablo family rules here, but that fear is lessening. The armies are pushing harder into Demelan. It's only a matter of time before they hit the Hall itself."

Lucivar nodded. "When that time comes, we'll deal with it." His murmur was stiff.

Daemon shifted the topic after a moment's silence.

"What brings you to the Hall, Lucivar?" It would be no social call. With things as they were, Lucivar would never leave his wife, a loving Purple Dusk hearth witch named Marian, and his two children alone for long. His duty to family and his lands were too great.

"I want to send Sarian to the Hall for awhile. Until things die down."

At the mention of Lucivar's young daughter, Daemon stiffened. Sarian was fourteen years old, and small for an Eyrien. She wore Birthright Sapphire, and was a Healer, with the potential for greatness if she survived the war. Daemonar, Sarian's older brother, wore the Ebon-gray proudly, and wouldn't be dragged from Ebon Rih kicking and screaming for anything.

"Are you sure, prick?" the question was merely formality. It made logical sense to send Sarian to the Hall, but Lucivar would miss his daughter, and worry for her when she was not under his direct care.

"Yeah. The only person who can protect her better than me is the Sadist."

Daemon nodded, chilling a bit. He hadn't played the Sadist for over twenty years, but he could again in a heartbeat. He was prepared to take that step, if the safety of his family or his lands were at risk.

Lucivar didn't stay long; he rarely did. Ebon Rih was having too many problems recently for him to be gone for long.

When he'd gone, arrangements for Sarian's arrival settled, Daemon stood and left the study. He wandered the halls without aim until he found himself at the doors to the library closest to the family wing. He opened the door and entered quietly. He found the figure he was looking for quickly and smiled.

Gaeriel SaDiablo glanced up at her father's approach, blushing. The rapid way she stuffed the book she was reading behind the throw pillow was testament to the content of the book. Daemon smiled faintly at her expression.

"Papa, how are you?" She squeaked. He slid into the large armchair with her and she leaned against him like she had since she was young. At sixteen, she was no small child anymore. She still wore her Birthright Sapphire, and thankfully she'd been mostly shielded from the horrors of the past years. She still held a certain childlike innocence that so few of the SaDiablo line had been able to maintain.

"I'm fine, Gaeri. What are you reading?"

She narrowly avoided the question by knocking her glass over and scampering to clean up the sweet tea now soaking into the library carpet. He humored her until she settled back down, and sensing the supreme embarrassment that she was feeling, left the question alone. Instead, he charged on.

"Sarian's coming to stay for awhile." His tone was light, and though Gaeri had to have known that she was not coming for a social reason, she kept her own tone light when she responded.

"That's nice. I haven't seen her in awhile. It'll be fun to catch up." Her remark was noncommittal, but Daemon knew exactly how protective Gaeriel was of her young cousin, and her brother of the same age. Sarian wore Sapphire, the same as Gaeriel, but as a Queen, Gaeriel had an instinctive protectiveness that went marrow deep.

When Daemon stood, he saw the flash of worry on his daughter's face. Innocence was still there, beneath the surface, but for a second he saw a young Queen, concerned for those around her.

"I wish I was older." She murmured. The comment took Daemon so completely off guard that he frowned.

"Why?" the single word hung heavy between them for a long moment before she dispelled it.

"So I could make my Offering. I'll never be my mother… I'll never be Witch… but I just wish I could do more to help the people. Even if I only wear the Red after my Offering, I could still do more to help than I'm doing now." Her heartfelt words lingered on Daemon's mind well after she'd finished saying them.

"None of us can do more than we're doing now." He muttered half-hearted, though he didn't feel the truth of them. He left the library without another word, but as he stepped outside the door he could hear her muttered words.

"I should be able to do more."

**1.2**

Three bedraggled children lugged heavy suitcases under the shadow of a tree and watched a village burn. There were no more screams now, that was some comfort, if little. There was no one left to scream, no one left to sing the land around this village back into life when the fire finally danced itself out. No one left to take care of the two survivors and the friend who was the only reason they were alive to weep.

The lighter Jeweled Blood who had planned the attack had planned it well. The Green Jeweled Queen who ruled over this small village was on her moontime and the lesser Jeweled males around her had little or no defense at all against the swarms of attackers. There had been no quarry and no reprieve for the injured people of this village who's only crime had been to have Jewels darker than the Opal in their village. None had been spared, none but the two who now huddled against a winged girl and looked at the remains of their village in mute despair.

They also would have perished if Ahriel's last ditch effort to contact her friend hadn't produced such terrifying results. Then again, who would have thought that a Red Jeweled Queen would have survived the purging of the Blood. Who would have thought she would befriend a tiny Opal Jeweled Healer. Who would have thought she'd come?

But come she had. Renn, Ahriel's older sister had been trying, futilely to hold off the 3 soldiers who had invaded their home and killed their parents before turning on the children when a presence dark enough to make her shiver had entered the small cabin. The rest of it was a blur of Jeweled power and anger that left the cabin empty of everything but residual anger and the children.

Renn had been turning to face the newest enemy when Ahriel launched herself into the girl-Queen's arms and started crying. An uneasy but necessary truce had been called as the girls rushed around a house that was already beginning to smolder and packed beloved possessions, keepsakes, and utility items like pots, pans, and food into sacks.

Their house, on the edge of town, had been one of the last to be hit. By the time their rescuer had arrived it was too late for anything to be done and the children ran full tilt into the safety of the forest. Even as they huddled now, Renn with her arms around her sister and the Queen Ahriel called Touya though she was obviously Eyrien watched the flames with pain clouded golden eyes. Touya stared at the destruction for a long time, and would have stood there for longer if a pale hand hadn't intertwined with a golden one and reminded the Queen of what she had saved.

They spent two days on the land, and Renn soon learned the depth of the relationship between her younger sister and the Queen. They had been friends for years apparently, and when Ahriel got into what Touya called 'a little trouble', the Queen-child had done a 'little healing' so that their parents wouldn't find out that the girl had been too far away from home. Since then they had been meeting and playing, getting in and out of trouble, and having adventures. Renn was almost jealous at times, but Tooya was too open towards everyone for someone to hold a grudge against the girl. Renn pitied the males who would one day join her court and be responsible for her welfare, she could charm her way out of a death trap.

On the third day Touya left them with a troubled look on her face and the muttered comment that they couldn't stay there forever. She was gone for the better part of an afternoon and only returned when the sun began to set over the far horizon. She arrived with a look of hopeful sadness in her eyes as she addressed the two girls across a campfire.

"I found a place where you can go, where you can be safe. The Warlord Prince of Dhemlan is a good man who will take care of you and keep you safe, as he has been doing for many others in a similar position. He is honorable, and still follows Blood Law and Protocol. I have a friend I trust who promised me that you will be welcome there, and you can always call to me if you ever need my help."

After delivering a speech like that with heartfelt intensity it was hard to refuse the clear innocence and determined look in Touya's golden eyes. Ahriel had agreed easily, and Renn, with a few misgivings and stipulations had agreed. Touya, sadly, couldn't accompany them all the way there, though she promised to safely deliver them into Dhemlan.

"It's safe there," Touya stated sad emphasis on the last word. "the SaDiablo family guards it's home, and they are too powerful to be overruled. I will see you safely into Dhemlan lands then you will have to travel with my friend, Lucien to the safe place."

It didn't take long to make the plans, and with the Opal as the lowest Jewel rank they made good time on the webs. When they were safely into Dhemlan's borders, the boy Touya called Lucien met them, and Touya spent another two days making sure the girls felt comfortable with him before leaving them with a small smile and a promise to come and meet them again. With a wave she took the Red wind and disappeared as the girls turned to face Lucien.

Ahriel took Touya at her word when she said she trusted Lucien and had given him something Renn couldn't give so easily, her trust. He led them through open streets, and slowly toward the imposing structure he referred to as the Hall. Ahriel and Renn, out of habit, had hidden their Jewels in their shirts and were surprised to see Lucien walking through a crowded town with his Red Jewel on a long gold chain around his neck, open for public view. Then again, the townspeople themselves were odd. Darker Jeweled females and males walked down sunlit streets without a guard, and hadn't the haunted, always fearful, look of the girls back home.

They were almost to the Hall when a man, a baker by trade no doubt judging by his rotund belly and apron speared with flour, sporting a Green Jewel approached the Warlord Prince. Renn placed herself in front of her sister almost without thinking but when the man saw the action his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "I'm sorry, my Ladies, for startling you. I was simply inquiring if the Prince, and yourselves of course, would like to sample my new roll. If you would, Prince SaDiablo, I'd also be much appreciated if you'd take a basket to Mrs. Beale for her opinion."

Lucien smiled and leaned over to whisper something in Ahriel's ear that made her eyes pop open in excitement.

"You made the cinnamon rolls? The ones Lady Touya brings sometimes?"

It was a detour, but one Renn welcomed after a week on nothing but what they could heat up over a fire. When the baker's wife discovered that the girls were in her kitchen and had had nothing but camping food for the last week she had made them a meal and insisted, with a tone that Lucien teasingly remarked as very similar to Mrs. Beale's, that no guest of hers would leave on an empty stomach. She watched the girls eat every crumb then packed the rest in a picnic basket for a snack to be eaten later. Laden down with yet another bundle the situation might have turned desperate if they weren't only a few feet from the Hall.

When they got to the Hall, the door swung open before Lucian's hand touched the knocker and Red Jeweled butler looked supremely affronted that a large winged man had gotten to the door in front of him. Lucian paled.

"Uncle Yaslana."

"Puppy. Where have you been? You've missed arms practice. We were worried." The tone of his voice and inflections of words made it sound like missing arms practice was a far greater sin than going off without a word.

"I had an appointment that ran long. Where's my father? I've found some young Ladies he should meet."

"I'm right here, you should get going, Lucivar, you've been gone too long."

**1.3**

The front hall seemed to be a popular place. Lucian SaDiablo squirmed under his father and uncle's disapproving glares.

"We'll talk about this later, Lucian." Daemon muttered. The tone that his father used was justification enough for Lucian's worry. The expression on his father's face, however, would have frozen lava on sight.

Lucian glanced sideways at the two girls he'd accompanied to the Hall, per request of Touya. The older one looked Lucivar's match, in attitude at least. Her expression would have been comical if that rather frightening lazy smile hadn't been scrawled across his uncle's face. He wondered if Renn realized that Lucivar could have broken her in two with his bare hands, and then realized that the red-haired witch from Scelt probably didn't care one way or the other.

Poor Ahriel, however, was terror-stricken at the two dark Jeweled males before her. Lucian had the urge to hug her, she looked so terrified that she might shatter with the first harsh word from either Daemon or Lucivar.

"Lucian!" The call came from Lucian's older brother, Jaemon. His savior! The older boy approached, took one look at the pissed off red-haired witch, and smirked.

"Ladies, welcome to SaDiablo Hall." He greeted, tone light, but expression comical.

Daemon smiled a slow smile himself and offered his arm to Renn. Two options remained open to her at that moment, and while one would have been more interesting than the other, she finally opted to just accept it and allow Daemon to lead her towards his study. Lucivar smiled at Ahriel, but it was Jaemon who offered his arm to her. Lucian sighed in relief until Lucivar grabbed his collar and sent him on the way to the study, to join the ladies in what would no doubt be an interrogation.

When they were all settled, and hot tea had been served to them all, Daemon opened the conversation.

"We've all be terribly rude, ladies. I don't even know your names. I am Daemon SaDiablo, Warlord Prince of Demelan. This is my brother, Lucivar Yaslana, Warlord Prince of Ebon Rih. I believe you know my son, Lucian."

Renn shifted. "I am Renn, and this is my sister Ahriel."

Daemon took stock of both. Renn was stiff, and on the outside reminded him of Morghann. Her temper was similar, but more sharp. Understandable, since she was in a different situation. Ahriel, however, was meek, and quiet. She was a Healer, as her sister was teri-gifted. She had a quiet strength that even her terror of Lucivar couldn't shake, though Daemon doubted that she realized it.

"Lady Renn, I won't ask you why you need the protection. I'll assume that it's as obvious as it seems and leave it at that. I will however offer you the official protection of the Hall and the SaDiablo family."

Renn's expression was flabbergasted. She opened her mouth a little, then closed it, before finally speaking.

"With all due respect, Prince SaDiablo, we cannot impose. If you allow us a place to sleep for a few days, we'll be on our way."

Daemon leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers, gently resting his chin on the pointed nails.

"Lady, you are quite obviously too young to be out on your own. You are several years below your age of majority. It would be unbecoming of me to let you just leave without turning you over to your parents."

The trail of tears that streamed down Ahriel's face and the cold, hard expression on Renn's, was enough to tell Daemon exactly what had happened to their parents. He nodded to himself before speaking again.

"It is too dangerous to let you simply leave, Lady, but I cannot force you to stay." There, the problem was laid out before them with his simple words.

Ahriel finally spoke, startling both Daemon and her sister.

"Can't we stay, Renn, at least for a little while? It's safe here. I don't want to keep running."

That decided Renn at least. Daemon mentally noted how easily Ahriel could sway the iron-wrought mindset of her sister.

"Then, I suppose if Prince SaDiablo doesn't mind, we'll stay for a time."

Lucivar leaned over and tapped Lucian on the shoulder.

"Hey, puppy, why don't you take Ahriel to the kitchen and ask Mrs. Beale for something to eat. You both look hungry."

The simple suggestion removed both of the young children from the room. Lucivar leaned casually against his brother's desk and waited for the question that he knew would come next.

"What happened to your parents, Renn?"

Her expression tightened. "We were just another of the villages destroyed by the armies of the lighter Jeweled. Everyone was killed, except us. We would have been too if not for…" She trailed off, hesitant.

"Who helped you?"

"It's not my secret to tell, Prince SaDiablo."

He accepted that. The promise of a Queen was not a light thing. As he stood and led Renn to the door, he made a mental note to contact his father. Perhaps the High Lord would have an important thing or two to say about this.

**Chapter 2**


End file.
